"Rather than generate wealth, operational costs will actually drain the budget," he said.

The government will spend $876 million for law and order, including $18 million for a youth crime diversion system and $22 million for urgent upgrades to detention facilities.

There's $27 million for the juvenile justice royal commission, but no money has been allocated to implement the inquiry's recommendations due in August, with Labor in negotiations with the commonwealth to contribute.

Meanwhile, $999 million has been budgeted for education and $1.6 billion for health.

Revenue raising measures for the next financial year include a paltry $13 million from stamp duty hikes on high-value properties and higher car registrations fees, along with $55 million in savings through public sector natural attrition.

Labor has once again hit $5.5 billion in projected debt, the same forecast that prompted a credit rating downgrade and helped it lose power in 2012.

The NT Treasury has warned racking up more debt could lead to another downgrade, with the Territory paying at least $1 million per day on interest payments alone from 2019/20.

Charles Darwin University Law lecturer Ken Parish says those net debt levels as a proportion of gross state product are low by global standards, and without significant stimulus there would be a risk of a recession.

Mr Parish said although the budget includes a 10-year $1.1 billion plan for remote housing and $263 million next financial year for roads in the bush, there aren't any substantial measures for indigenous economic development.

CDU professor Rolf Gerritsen says the government's only other option to grow the economy is to lift the temporary ban on fracking.

"Or hope that the national economy picks up, and therefore the GST goes up," he said.